1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a hand-carried carrier in the form of a flexible, open topped bag including oppositely disposed, parallel side and end walls interconnected by a bottom all being constructed of flexible, transparent material, such as vinyl or the like and including a bottom panel, dividers and end panels all of substantially rigid material to retain the carrier in extending position wherein a plurality of vertically elongated compartments for a plurality of vertically stacked cans, bottles or other containers is provided to facilitate the carrying of a plurality of such containers with minimum difficulty.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Beverage bottles have been provided with foldable cardboard carriers and the like by which a predetermined number of bottles, such as six bottles, can be easily carried. Such carriers are normally supplied by the bottler and accompany the bottles when they are purchased and the consumer usually returns the bottles in the same carrier. However, when a large quantity of beverage bottles are purchased, the handling thereof becomes difficult and it is also difficult to return the bottles when multiple carriers are involved. With the economic feasibility of disposable containers occurring, metal cans, such as aluminum, have been used to package beverages with the consumer normally purchasing a "six pack" and disposing of the wrapper or carrier and the containers after the beverages have been consumed. However, numerous jurisdictions have enacted ordinances or legislation requiring that a deposit be collected on normally throwaway containers when a consumer purchases the beverages so that when the containers are returned, a refund will be made thereby inducing the consumer to return the throwaway containers rather than throwing them onto areas adjacent roadways and the like which contributes to unsightliness and creates a disposal problem. While bulk recycling centers have been provided for recycling the aluminum cans, the ordinances or legislation usually requires that the beverage containers be returned intact, that is, without being broken or crushed in order to obtain the refund. The return of such containers presents a problem to consumers. For example, when paper bags are used, it is necessary to remove the containers from the bags in order to count them and in order to make sure that they are from the jurisdiction in which the purchase deposit was paid. Frequently, residual liquid is in the containers which runs out into the paper bags thus rendering them ineffective for retaining a plurality of containers. Various efforts have been made to provide carriers for returning beverage containers with such devices being exemplified by the following U.S. Pat. Nos.
1,975,428, Oct. 2, 1934 PA1 3,164,185, Jan. 5, 1965 PA1 3,311,294, Mar. 28, 1967 PA1 3,362,577, Jan. 9, 1968 PA1 4,193,525, Mar. 18, 1980 PA1 4,212,377, July 15, 1980 PA1 4,280,336, July 28, 1980 PA1 4,290,525, Sept. 22, 1981 PA1 4,299,324, Nov. 10, 1981 PA1 4,300,697, Nov. 17, 1981